TODAY COLOMBIA – Colombia’s Supreme Court has acquitted a soldier charged with possessing more than the maximum amount of medical marijuana allowed, saying he was addicted and should get more.
“Because it has been established that the accused from a very young age was a marijuana user, the amount of the substance he was found with above the personal dose, should have been understood as (medical) dose,” Judge Eugenio Fernandez Carlier said in the March 9 ruling.
“The amount of the substance, easily accessed, is the amount that he needed, so it is deemed a legally and constitutionally authorized dose.”
The soldier, Yesid Arias, had been convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to nine years for carrying 50.2 grams of marijuana in Santander province in 2012.
A psychiatrist testified to the court that Arias was an addict, since he had seen him have anxiety attacks that long-term use can produce.
Some scientists say the drug produces psychological dependence, and not chemical addiction, but there are conflicting opinions on that claim.
In Colombia, individuals can grow up to 10 marijuana plants for personal use. In December, it was made legal for medical and scientific use.
But it is still illegal to consume or sell the drug on the street.
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